There are so many festivals and events in North Carolina to attend, but this one really stands out.
Once you enter The Viking Experience Festival, an annual event in Granville County (about an hour north of Raleigh and Durham), you’ll see what we’re talking about.
Held over two weekends in March, The Viking Experience Festival brings together live combat demos, music, artisan vendors, and hearty food in a medieval setting.
This guide will answer all your questions, including where and when, as well as what we love about The Viking Experience Festival.
Read More: 100+ Unique Things to Do In North Carolina (Your NC Bucket List)
Where is the Viking Experience Festival?
Address: 1045 Walnut Grove Rd, Oxford, NC
Official Website
The Viking Experience Festival is held on an 80-acre farm called Goshen Haven, about 20 minutes outside downtown Oxford, North Carolina.
The farm and festival grounds are less than an hour from Durham, a little over an hour away from Raleigh, and an hour and a half from Greensboro, making it a great day trip from a few of our favorite cities.
You can use our Central North Carolina Map and our bigger North Carolina Travel Map to explore the area around the Viking Experience Festival before and during your trip.
When is the Viking Experience Festival?
- 2027 Dates: March 13-14 & March 20-21, 2027
- 2027 Times
- Saturdays from 10:00 am–6:00 pm
- Sundays from 10:00 am–5:00 pm
As we mentioned, the Viking Experience Festival is held over two weekends in March. The gates open at 10:00 am each day, and events start throughout the grounds.
Beyond the Viking Experience Festival, there are other special events held on the grounds.
- The Viking Experience Academy (May 30-31, 2026)
- Yuletide Experience (December 5-6, 2026)
Things We Loved About the Viking Experience Festival
Starting with the most obvious, we absolutely loved these things about the Viking Experience festival.
It’s a Viking Festival
Don’t hate me for this, but I just love the fact that we have a Viking Festival in this corner of North Carolina. An overall festive vibe dominates the grounds, joined by countless folks in period dress and wood fire smoke.
If the dressed-up Vikings or the events don’t take you back to the mid-10th century, then maybe you should reassess what you’re doing with your life.
A Mother-Daughter Team Started the Viking Experience Festival
The Viking Experience Festival is family-run, started by Angela and her daughter Hanna (Hanna the Red).
This mother-daughter team has an organized operation working both on-site and behind the scenes to keep the Viking Experience Festival in-period and ready for the next event.
Events for ALL
Whether you’re into history, live entertainment, or both, the Viking Experience Festival is there for you. Here’s a sample of things we saw at the Viking Experience Festival:
- Storytelling
- Live combat demos (more below)
- Acrobatic and aerial acts
- Folk songs
- A tug of war
There’s even more happening at the Viking Experience Festival, which is why you should keep reading!
Diverse Encampments
You can walk around the various encampments of the Viking Experience Festival, and there are more than a few to see. There were Scottish Vikings, Central North Carolinian Vikings, organized groups of reenactors, and more.
Honestly, I came away thinking about starting a Durham chapter. Who’s with me?
Product Vendors
In 2026, the Viking Experience Festival added Drekheim Market, a collection of product vendors with some offering demos. You could find various practical and showy period items that would’ve existed in the medieval period.
You definitely would’ve needed that axe and your kids would love those fiber stuffies during cold, Viking winters.
Those times could be upon us someday, so it’s better to be prepared for it than not, right?
More Info About Becoming a Vendor
Live Combat Demos
If you miss the live combat demo (how dare you!), can you say you attended the Viking Experience Festival? Maybe I’m being harsh but these “fights” were so much fun to watch.
As I watched, it quickly dawned on me that those swords are heavy and could hurt, but thankfully everyone was safe and lived to tell the tale.
Of course, our kids loved watching, too, after they understood nobody was in danger.
Read More: Carolina Renaissance Festival in Huntersville (Things to Do + 7 Important Tips!)
You Can Join the Fun (but it’s not required)
Of course, the Vikings who camped and put together this event weren’t the only ones dressed in period.
We encountered more than a few Viking attendees, along with some Goths, people wearing their favorite Viking metal shirts, and others dressed to match the Medieval times.
Yes, Viking metal is very much welcome. If you know of any Viking Metal bands that belong in our guide to North Carolina musicians, please let us know in the comments or by email.
(Bonus Thing We Love) The Festival is in Granville County
Finally, and as a bonus, we love that the Viking Experience Festival happens in Granville County. It’s our neighbor to the north and home to some cool communities, like Butner, Creedmoor, Stem, Oxford, and more.
There are also fun events throughout the year, not just in March when this awesome one takes place. We love traveling this way for the NC Hot Sauce Contest and Festival in September, the Granville Haunt Farm in the fall, and the Granville Christmas Farm during the winter holiday season.
Want to Attend the Next Viking Experience Festival?
We hope you’re able to attend this special event. It’s a wonderful time in a beautiful place and each year, a new wrinkle or feature is added.
For more information and tickets, please visit the official Viking Experience website and do not buy from resellers.
If you’ve been to the Viking Experience Festival, we’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments. Please let us know here and share your fun in our North Carolina Travel Facebook Group!
More North Carolina Travel Guides
We’ve featured more adventures to similar places in our NC travel guides collection. Here are a few of them:
Search for NC Travel Guides
You can search our entire site if you’re looking for something specific.